After his arrest, Maurer decided his family would move to Oregon where he wanted to legalize pot once and for all.

"Somebody in the industry needed to step up to play a role in leading the change to end cannabis prohibitions."

He reached out to professionals around town to develop, lobby and help run a successful campaign. They ended up making a presentation for the biggest national funders, and by 2013 the measure to legalize pot was on the ballot. Measure 91 was passed in Oregon with over 1 million votes.

"Criminal penalties changed and today adults will no longer be criminalized for possessing cannabis," he remembered thinking that day in November.

Still Maurer said the fight is far from over, and now his battle will continue back home.

"[We'll] take the momentum, continue making progress in Missouri, and change laws in Missouri as a better approach to treating this as a health issue," he said.